


gay mis

by revolution_but_civilization



Category: Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: About queer subtext in Les Mis, M/M, Not a fanfic, Queer Subtext, Transcript of a presentation I'm doing, a lot of Greek references, could be useful?, essay kinda, hope y'all like it, longer than some of my actual fanfiction, make of this what you want, script kinda, spoilers for the book ig if you haven't read it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28153176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revolution_but_civilization/pseuds/revolution_but_civilization
Summary: The script of a presentation I am going to give on queer subtext in Les Misérables. Obviously it focuses on Grantaire and Enjolras, though I do talk about Jean Prouvaire and Joly + Bossuet. If you need proof that Grantaire and Enjolras are queer? Here you go!There's actually more subtext than I expected. And a lot of Greek references.
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables), Joly/Bossuet Laigle/Musichetta
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	gay mis

[Link to the presentation](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M3lrQAXFhMJP4-vT5Kb_xoUv5Wp85L0_/view?usp=sharing)

Hello! Today we are going to be learning about how absolutely queer Les Mis is. I would like to give you a fair warning that I will likely butcher the pronunciations of the names because they are French last names. In this presentation, I will be citing sources from both the unabridged Fahnestock translation and the unabridged Hapgood translation. As well, I will be citing a collection of textual analyses entitled “Victor Hugo Knew What He Was Doing.” Alas, I do not know the author of this source, which I apologize for. I can provide a link to that source upon request.

So, you’re probably thinking, “Am I thinking about the right Les Mis? What on Earth is this kid talking about? He can’t be talking about the Les Mis published in 1862 by an old dead white guy. Obviously it’s very heterosexual.”

And that’s where I am here to correct you! While there are some heterosexuals, Les Mis is _very_ gay, not only because it’s been a running musical (the English-language one, that is) since 1985.

Firstly, you have Les Amis. I will attempt to restrain myself from getting too off topic in talking about them individually. Basically, they are a group of students-slash-workers who were, quote, “A society seeming to have as its aim the education of children; in reality, the remaking of men” (Hugo 642). They are essentially a revolutionary friend group. Consider that for a second. Any self-respecting group of young adults who collectively hate the government and are more dramatic than need be are obviously a queer friend group.

I don’t have time to discuss each of them in detail or explain why all of them are queer, and for that I apologize, because I would really like to. 

Before we get into the main part of this, which is Enjolras and Grantaire, I would like to take a moment to discuss two very interesting cases within _Les Amis_. The first being Jean Prouvaire, and the second being Joly and Bossuet.

So, Jean Prouvaire. He “was addicted to love; he cultivated a pot of flowers, played the flute, wrote poetry” (Hugo 646). Already, that is giving off queer vibes. Hugo continues on to describe Prouvaire with, “His voice was usually delicate, but at times suddenly masculine” (Hugo 646). The plot thickens. Obviously, I do not want to stereotype, but, as we will discuss later in the presentation, due to the environment of the times, Hugo would have to lean on these stereotypes in order to get it across that a character was queer. Another quote is, “He was fond of strolling in fields of wild oats and bluebells” (Hugo 646). Prouvaire is also described with, “spoke gently, […] smiled with embarrassment, dressed badly, […] blushed at nothing, was very timid” (Hugo 646). Now, I don’t know about you, but when I consider all of these quotes combined, they are definitely screaming ‘queer’ to me.

Joly, quote, “was a young hypochondriac. What he had learned from medicine was to be a patient rather than a physician” (Hugo 651). Bossuet “was a cheery fellow who was unlucky […] at twenty-five he was bald” (Hugo 650). Normal enough, yeah? But consider. At multiple points in the book, it is reiterated that the two of them live together. Oh my God, they were _roommates_! If that doesn’t set off your gaydar just a little, you might want to go get it checked. Next, Joly and Bossuet share a mistress (whose name is Musichetta). Polyamory? In _my_ Les Mis? It’s more likely than you think! The final point I would like to make is that on page 1082, Hugo states that “The two friends shared everything […] Joly, whose head was stopped up, had a bad cold that Bossuet was beginning to share” (Hugo 1082). I’m not going to pass any judgement in exactly how that cold was shared…… but you can infer. In conclusion? Polyamorous rights!

Now, finally on to Enjolras and Grantaire, the main highlight!

Enjolras is the leader of Les Amis. He was described as “angelically beautiful” and “a charming young man, capable of being intimidating” (Hugo 643). I don’t want to go too much into his description, as a large portion of it will be called on later as evidence that he is _very_ gay. He’s fairly intense, and really really into liberty and revolution, having strong opinions about both of those.

Next, Grantaire. He is the token skeptic of Les Amis, and quote, “a man who took good care not to believe anything” (Hugo 652). Right off the bat, we can see that he is very juxtaposed to Enjolras and his strong opinions. Hugo goes on to describe Grantaire as “particularly ugly” (Hugo 652). Another juxtaposition! Enjolras is beautiful, Grantaire is ugly.

Now, onto the juicy part of this: the textual evidence for how overwhelmingly queer Grantaire and Enjolras are. Fair warning, there’s a lot of Greek references.

“He was Antinous, wild.” (Hugo 643). I don’t know how much you know about Antinous, but this one short sentence alone is _packed_ with subtext. Antinous was a lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, and the cult the emperor started in his honor was one of the most popular cults of deified humans in the entire Roman Empire. By the 1800s, when Victor Hugo was writing _Les Mis_ , Antinous was the most-associated-with-homosexuality historical figure in Western culture. His name was used in literature as the 19th century equivalent of gay coding. To quote Cambridge professor Caroline Vout, he was “the most notorious pretty boy from the annals of classical history” and a “gay icon.” You see how this one sentence alone is almost all the evidence we need?

But there’s much more. As Hugo continues, he describes Enjolras as having a very youthful and effeminate appearance. While effeminacy is a stereotype, it is often used to nudge the idea that an individual is gay. This is even more true in Hugo’s time, where he couldn’t straight-out say that Enjolras was queer, but by golly he could drop _so_ many hints.

This is one of the most obvious bits for those who don’t know Greek stories. Enjolras is literally not attracted to, or, apparently, even aware of the existence of, women. And he’s an adult. Surely if he were attracted to women he would have noticed it at least once in his life. Whatever sexuality he may be, it is definitely not straight.

Another Greek reference! Aristogeiton and Harmodius were gay lovers. Interestingly, they killed a tyrant and were in turn put to death. That’s just a fun fact. But anyway. Yes! They were gay and it was a well-known fact in their time that they were. Multiple contemporary writers agreed that they were, and their relationship was cited by Demosthenes as an example that same-sex relationships were beneficial.

“However, this sceptic had one fanaticism. This fanaticism was neither a dogma, nor an idea, nor an art, nor a science; it was a man: Enjolras. Grantaire admired, loved, and venerated Enjolras” (Hugo 653). Reading the French version of _Les Mis_ , I can confirm that this isn’t just a difference in translation. The word used is _most definitely_ “loved.” I dare you to read that and think it is entirely _no homo_. You can’t! It’s impossible to do so.

Next! Long list of names. But, if you look closer, you’ll notice that most, if not all, of those men are widely regarded as being gay. Patroclus was, obviously, Achilles’ lover. Every baby gay knows that. Ephestion was better known as Hephaestion, Alexander the Great’s lover. Pechmeja was an 18th century French writer who lived with and shared income with his “close friend” De Breuil. They were even buried in the same grave.

But that’s not the only list of gays that Grantaire was compared to in conjunction with Enjolras! He and Enjolras are compared to Orestes and Pylades. Orestes and Pylades were from Greek mythology and featured in many Greek plays. Their relationship was portrayed by some Roman authors as romantic or homoerotic and were a well-known code for same-sex relationships in the 19th century. Obviously, Victor Hugo would know that code.

That’s just the descriptions of the characters, and there’s already overwhelming queer subtext.

Next. Enjolras says “You don’t believe in anything” and Grantaire replies “I believe in you” (Hugo 848). This is just a really sweet line, I think. Here is Victor Hugo, continue to emphasize the fact that Grantaire is singularly devoted to Enjolras.

Finally, the infamous death scene. To provide context, Grantaire, who had been overlooked by the National Guard and has just woken up to see Enjolras in front of the National Guard who are preparing to shoot him. Grantaire proclaims that he is part of the revolution too, and tells the Guard to shoot him alongside Enjolras. He then asks Enjolras, “Do you permit it?” (Hugo 1248). Enjolras not only smiles, but actually _takes Grantaire’s hand_. This is the same Enjolras who was described as being solely devoted to the Republic, now paying attention to Grantaire, who was the opposite of himself with almost no beliefs.

I’d like to bring it to your attention that, on page 927, Hugo writes, “Oh, to lie side by side in the same tomb, hand in hand, and to gently touch a fingertip from time to time in the darkness, would suffice for my eternity. You who suffer because you love, love more than ever. To die of love is to live by it” (Hugo 927). Hugo is saying that true love is dying for that love, and holding hands for eternity. Well, who died for someone they “admired, loved, and venerated,” and was holding his hand as they died? That’s right! Grantaire!

In conclusion… gay. There is a vast amount of queer subtext in the novel _Les Misérables_ , and, even if Grantaire and Enjolras were not romantically involved, they were certainly queer. Hugo was fully aware of how Enjolras and Grantaire were perceived, and included obvious references and subtext in the descriptions of the two of them. There is little, if any, doubt that Victor Hugo knew exactly what he was doing, and that the story of Enjolras and Grantaire is absolutely _ridden_ with queer subtext.

Works Cited

Hugo, Victor. _Les Misérables_. Translated by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee, New York, Signet Classics, 2013.

\---. _Les Misérables_. E-book, Project Gutenberg.

\---. _Les Misérables_. Translated by Isabel F. Hapgood, e-book, Planet eBook.

"Victor Hugo Knew What He Was Doing." _Google Docs_ , docs.google.com/document/d/14pjm1u9qctzpGW2_Xzok95nd9mtyyL23911HsVKGoBU/mobilebasic. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020. No author, publication date, or other useful information were provided.

**Author's Note:**

> (I've re-entered the Les Mis fandom and this is what I do.)


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